HAIR OF THE ‘ DOG’
BILLY PRICE OFFERS ‘ A LITTLE MORE RAW MEAT’ ON ‘ DOG EAT DOG’
Billy Price, a Pittsburgh musical institution since 1971, moved east to Baltimore last year, but good things happen when he goes west.
The 69- year- old soul man is fresh out of Greaseland Studio in San Jose, Calif., with a second album recorded with Kid Andersen, and, through all the great records he’s made, Price has rarely sounded as vibrant as he does on “Dog Eat Dog.”
It’s the follow- up to “Reckoning” and his second studio album since winning the Blues Music Award in Memphis for “This Time for Real,” his 2015 collaboration with the late great Otis Clay. That’s where he met Andersen, the Norwegian- born guitarist/ producer who has toured with the likes of Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop and currently plays in Rick Estrin and the Nightcats.
Price, a New Jersey native born Bill Pollak, grew up listening to R& B and soul on New York stations and formed his first band, the Rhythm Kings, at Penn State around 1970. Relocated to Pittsburgh, they became a staple of the Shadyside music scene, interrupted only by his tours, starting in 1972, as singer for guitar legend Roy Buchanan. His Keystone Rhythm Band, formed in 1977, was one of Pittsburgh’s biggest draws through the ’ 80s, while he was working by day at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Now, he fronts the nearly 30year- old Billy Price Band, when in Pittsburgh, and the Billy Price Charm City Rhythm Band in Baltimore.
On “Dog Eat Dog,” Price is joined by Andersen and his session musicians for a 12song set with eight originals, most written with BPB keyboardist Jim Britton, Bill Troiani and French guitarist Fred Chapellier. Price, one of the world’s most respected blue- eyed soul men, applies some of his most commanding vocals yet to scorching blues (“Dog Eat Dog,” “My Love Will Never Die”), groovy funk (“Working on Your Chain Gang,” “Toxicity”), old- school Philly soul (“Same Old Heartaches”), and both cool (“Lose My Number”) and good- time swing (“Walk Back In”).
In advance of his release show at Club Cafe on the South Side, Price filled us in the new project and his new life in Ravens and Orioles territory.
Let’s start with Baltimore, currently our most embattled city. How are things there? Are you building a following?
Yes, slowly but surely, I think. The band I have down here with Baltimore and D. C. guys is really great. The show last night, at a cool club called the Ottobar, was presented by longtime friends in the Baltimore Blues Society. I’ve been playing for them for many years. That was one of the reasons why a move here made sense for me — all the gigs I’ve done over the years in Baltimore and D. C.
So, how does the R& B/ blues scene there compare?
There are lots of great venues in D. C. these days. There’s at least one club in Baltimore that is comparable to something like Moondog’s, the Cat’s Eye Pub, in Fells Point. I’d say that the blues scenes in most cities are pretty similar. There are jams going on here and there, and the music tends to appeal to older people, which is kind of unfortunate.
What about the camaraderie among musicians?
It’s great. I plugged into that right away, because I already knew a lot of people here. Musicians everywhere pretty much complain about all the same things.
So, what did you set out to do when you headed to California this time?
Well, when I finished “Reckoning,” I had a feeling that was akin to sadness, oddly enough, because I didn’t want that experience to end. It was only a few months later that I suggested to Kid Andersen that we do another album and book the studio for the following year. The thing that we talked about doing for this one was to offer a little more raw meat to the mainstream blues fans who go to the festivals and blues cruises. So, you’ll hear a little more traditional blues- rock on this one, more things with the 12- bar pattern. But Kid and I are so hip [ he says sarcastically] that we can’t help being diverse and eclectic. I think the idea of adding percussion to all the tracks was genius on Kid’s part. I love the congas and all the other stuff.
Yeah, it’s definitely heavier. And there’s more guitar sizzle.
Yes, that’s intentional. That’s the raw meat. Guitar solos. Mike Zito, co- founder of my label, really tears up that solo on “All
Night Long Cafe.” Mike’s terrific. Other than that though, almost all the musicians are the same. One change is that Eric Spaulding, who now plays in the Billy Price Band in Pittsburgh, plays sax. He sounds tremendous. Tell me about the hookup with Mike Zito.
Mike was a huge Roy Buchanan fan when he was a kid, and the first time I met him, he was excited to know the singer who sang on “Live Stock.” I was on the Rhythm and Blues Cruise in October, a few months before I was scheduled to go to Greaseland to record, and Mike was on there playing. So, Mike invited me to do a couple of shows with his great band on the cruise, and we did several of the “Live Stock” Buchanan songs, which was a blast. Also on the cruise was a guy from the U. K. named Guy Hale, and I got to know him and his lovely wife, Lou, as well. Guy and Mike had decided to start a new record company, Gulf Coast, and they talked to me very informally about maybe doing something at Mike’s studio in Texas after I finished the album with Kid. Then about a week after I got home, Mike and Guy contacted me and said that they wanted the Greaseland album for Gulf Coast. Guy actually came out to San Jose during the sessions and ended up serving as the executive producer. He also helped me and Jimmy Britton write one of the songs, “Toxicity.”
I wanna ask about the production. This record seems to jump out of the speakers more than any other record you’ve done. It’s crystal.
I’m not sure that Kid’s process was technically much different on this one than on “Reckoning.” He might be able to tell you more about that. He’s such a great producer for this kind of music, because he has a deep respect for the tradition along with state of the art technical chops. You did eight originals. Were these all newly written?
Yes, they were. Part of what made this work is that, from “Reckoning,” I already had established ways of working with both Jimmy Britton and Fred Chapellier, so we didn’t have to figure all of that out from scratch. It was just, “Hey, I’m doing a new album, help me write some more songs.” What’s that writing process like?
Jimmy sends me rough demos that he works on from his house using a Mac program called Logic. He’s amazingly prolific. The songs I finish are maybe 5% of what he sends me. So I listen through them, select the ones that appeal to me, and then take them one at a time and see if I can get ideas for lyrics and melodies and arrangements. Often, Jimmy has these ideas already sketched out in the first demos. I use GarageBand on my end, which I barely know how to use, to put down vocal ideas and chop up the arrangements a little. So, you’re writing most of the lyrics?
Yes, but really Jim and I collaborate on the lyrics, I’d say. “Walk Back In” is one that he had completely finished and I didn’t do anything to help write. And then my process with Fred in France is similar, except that he sends me MP3s, I add them to GarageBand and fool around with them, and then eventually, Jim, Fred and I will collaborate on the final demos. We end up with demos that are rough but are finished enough that Kid can send them to the musicians in advance of the sessions so they can prep. And then sometimes the songs change in the studio as we work with the session musicians.
I guess that’s a lot different from how you would do it back in the day. You would probably be in the same room together, right?
Yes, that’s true. Although I stay with Jim out in Belle Vernon a lot when I travel to Pittsburgh to play now, and we often are able to work on some of the songs face to face.
How do you go about making sure you have the right variety of styles and tempos?
That’s something that Kid and I work out before the sessions start. As we finish demos, I send them to Kid, and he tells me which ones he likes, or as he puts it, which ones “kick his ass.” Also, as time passes, I’ll sometimes say to Jim and Fred, “Hey, I could use something with such- and- such a groove or feeling for this recording,” and then they will go from there. As I describe all of this to you, it strikes me that I’ve somehow evolved into having a pretty nice process for doing these albums. Of course, I wish I had done this 30 years ago, but I still feel lucky to be where I am now. “Done this 30 years ago” in what way?
Having songwriting be a more important component of what I present musically. I think that I was always so much of a fan of the music that I allowed myself to be satisfied with presenting faithful renditions of songs that other people had done. There was a thrill in performing or recording an obscure O. V. Wright recording that not many people had heard, but in the end — especially now when every piece of music is available to everyone — who needs to hear Billy Price sing “Nickel and a Nail” if you can hear O. V. Wright do it? Well, do you wonder what could have
been if you hadn’t been tied to a day job?
Sure, I do wonder that sometimes. I scan the rosters for the big blues festivals and blues cruises and think, “How come I’m not on there?” And then I remember, oh yeah, the guys on this roster were out there traveling in vans and playing in little clubs in Omaha while I was working at Carnegie Mellon and enjoying health insurance and other amenities.
So, it wasn’t that much of a sacrifice ...
I sacrificed certain things, yes, but I knew what I was doing. I weighed the trade- offs and chose what I chose consciously. But maybe that’s just another way of saying that I was never sufficiently driven by my passion for music to be willing to live 100% the life that goes along with that passion. Funny thing is, though, I’m ready to do that now.
Well, this is the style of music where people get better with age.
I think so, yes. Roy Buchanan always told his manager, Jay Reich, that “Billy won’t really be good until he gets older.” That’s not a direct quote, but it was something like that.
How would you compare your vocals then and now?
Definitely more relaxed, quieter, more subtle. I was always pushing my voice to full capacity. There’s one song on “Dog Eat Dog,” “Same Old Heartaches,” where I sing full throttle. It came on in the car the other day, and Mary [ his partner] said, “That’s the way you used to sing everything.”
You think you’re quieter now?
Yes, for sure. I’ve learned the effectiveness of falsetto or half voice, both in the studio and live. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you the following story before, but it fits in this context. Back when I was recording “East End Avenue” a while ago — maybe 10 years ago or so — I was working with a songwriter and producer named Jon Tiven to write some songs. We were just getting to know each other, and I sent Jon several of my albums. We talked a little while later, and he told me that he had produced Syl Johnson, who was an artist at Hi Records, where Al Green also recorded. He said that Syl told him that when Al laid down a vocal in the studio, you could stand a few feet away from him and just barely hear him, he sang that softly. And then Tiven delivered the money line: “Women don’t like to be yelled at.” That idea and approach has stuck with me ever since.
That’s awesome. Do you think you preserved your voice by not being in the van all those years?
Yes, probably. Although if you take that more relaxed approach, you can sing a lot of gigs in a row without ripping up your voice. I did nine shows in 10 days with Fred in France one time, and I was able to still sound OK by the 10th day.
So, changing the subject, what are your typical days like now?
I still work part time for Carnegie Mellon — I work with researchers at SEI and ghost- write blog posts with them — so I try to work those hours in every week, which helps me financially. The rest of the time I’m consumed with the business side of running the Billy Price operation. It feels like I am on a mission, but it pleases me, and I enjoy it. Booking, managing the two bands in Pittsburgh and Baltimore/ D. C., mailing out CDs and T- shirts, etc. I have a great gym I go to in a cool section of Baltimore called Mt. Vernon, and I also do a lot of walking in the city.
Am I the only Pittsburgher who gives you a hard time about leaving?
You don’t give me much of a hard time really. Most people don’t, I would say. I’m in Pittsburgh all the time. In the car a lot on the turnpike.
What’s coming up for you in terms of touring?
Big milestones are Gulf Coast showcases at the Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas in September and at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City [ Mo.] in October. Also the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland in November with Fred and two other guys from France, Jimmy Britton and Torro Gamble, the drummer in the Charm City Rhythm band. I’m doing a tribute to Roy Buchanan at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 22, and Mike is actually coming in to be part of that, along with a lot of people who played with and knew Roy during his career.
What’s the occasion for that?
The gig is right around his birthday. I did a show like that two years ago in Bethesda, Md., and it was great. I’m the organizer and straw boss.
So, is that your Doberman on the cover?
No, belongs to friends of ours. His name is Bolo. They call him Zoolander. Friendly?
Yes. The owners were there to help with the photo shoot.
So, finally, just to put you on the spot, what do you think about Trump tweeting that Baltimore ( or at least Elijah Cummings’ district) is a “very dangerous & filthy place”?
We live in Cummings’ district, and his house is down the block from us. Baltimore has a lot of problems, but we are enjoying our lives here. There are many cool things about Baltimore that we love. It’s Trump’s way of striking back at Cummings and a good issue for Trump for firing up his base. It doesn’t have much to do with our day- to- day reality.